Strategic Priorities Statement: Defence

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Tuesday 25th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I can absolutely confirm that all National Wealth Fund spending will be within the fiscal rules.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, is the Minister perplexed, like me, by the negativity coming from the Benches opposite? As well as many tens of billions of pounds in the National Wealth Fund, our Government have given billions to infected blood compensation, and next month we will get the triple lock on pensions. Those are three tremendous steps forward. Can the Minister urge the Chancellor to be just a little more upbeat tomorrow?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I will absolutely pass that on to the Chancellor.

Independent School Fees: VAT

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Thursday 13th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. Of course, I will join her in congratulating Jakob. As she knows far better than I do, the Music and Dance Scheme provides grants and help with fees at eight schools and 20 centres for advanced training. The Department for Education has decided to adjust its Music and Dance Scheme bursary contribution for families with a relevant income below £45,000 a year to account for the VAT that will be applied to fees, ensuring that the total parental fee contribution for families with below-average relevant incomes remains unchanged for the rest of this academic year.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords—

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[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The policy remains as it was. It will not impact pupils with the most acute additional needs. Where pupils’ places in private schools are funded by local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales because their needs can be met only in a private school, local authorities will be able to reclaim that VAT. In terms of those without one of those systems in place, on average, the Government expect private school fees to increase by around 10% as a result of this measure.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, I am not a Tory either. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that the scare stories coming from opposite, like many of their scare stories, have been proven to be wrong? The Press Association’s review of schools has shown that there has not been a major transfer from the private sector to the public sector. In fact, in the public sector in England, more pupils have got their first choice of school this year than last year. The private schools that are closing are doing so for reasons other than the increase in fees. The noble Lord, Lord Lexden, is shaking his head, but he is wrong.

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

As always, I agree with everything that my noble friend says. All the comments that we have heard to date about the Government’s assessments being incorrect have been proven to be wrong. On the number of pupils who would move from one sector to another, that is absolutely in line with what the Government’s assessment said. On the amount of VAT that would pass through to the fees that parents pay, that is absolutely in line with what the Government said. On the number of schools that would close, that is absolutely in line with what the Government said. As my noble friend said, many councils now say that there has been no obvious impact from the addition of VAT on private school fees, and more pupils are receiving their first choice of school than they did last year.

UK Border Strategy: Single Trade Window

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

There are costs from designing, developing and administering the technical delivery platform, which have been clearly set out by Deloitte, with support from IBM. We have retained the technical platform in order to retain the option for a future restart of the project. This would allow us to capitalise on the previous investment and could enable a simpler and faster restart of development activity in the future. As I say, we will update the House at the next spending review.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, returning to the initial Answer, could the Minister remind the House of the challenging fiscal deficit that we inherited?

Covid Counter-Fraud Commissioner

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock]

To ask His Majesty’s Government when they expect to receive a report from the Covid Counter-Fraud Commissioner.

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Livermore) (Lab)]

My Lords, Tom Hayhoe has been appointed Covid Counter-Fraud Commissioner. He will use every means possible to recover public money lost in pandemic-related fraud and ensure that that money is returned to public services. At the end of this year, the commissioner will provide a report, which will be presented to Parliament, outlining his findings on PPE procurement and other areas of Covid fraud, as well as identifying lessons and recommendations for government procurement in the face of future crises.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for that, but there seems to be some confusion about whether, after his all too short 12 months, the commissioner should report to Parliament on lessons to be learned for future pandemics, or whether he should report according to his job description: regularly, to the public and Parliament, about how much of the £8 billion—not just from Michelle Mone and the VIP lane but many others—has been recovered. Can we have an assurance that the public and Parliament will be told regularly how much of that money has been recovered?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for his question, and he is absolutely right. We promised that we would act on the fraud and waste that took place during the Covid pandemic. Let us remember that billions of pounds were handed out to friends and donors of the Conservative Party, including a £40 million contract awarded to the then Health Secretary’s local pub landlord. Billions more were defrauded from the taxpayer, and more than £1 billion was spent on PPE that either did not arrive or was not fit for purpose.

On entering government, we found £674 million of contracts in dispute, but we inherited a recommendation from the previous Government that any attempt to reclaim that money should be abandoned. That is unacceptable. The Chancellor has instead put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently reviewed by the commissioner, and she will absolutely ensure that regular reports are given to Parliament, as my noble friend asks, on the progress of that work.

Public Finances: Borrowing Costs

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Thursday 9th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I repeat to the noble Lord what I said in my opening remarks. Financial markets are always evolving, so it is a long-standing convention that the Government do not comment on specific financial market movements. I will not break that convention today. Financial market movements, including changes in government bond or gilt yields, which represent the Government’s borrowing costs, are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, the Minister quite rightly said that the Opposition, when in government, had been irresponsible in their economic policies, but does he not agree that their unfair and unjustified criticism of this Government is equally irresponsible and unhelpful?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am happy to agree with my noble friend that any criticism of this Government is unhelpful.

United Kingdom Declining Birth Rate

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Wednesday 6th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, on the birth rate, does the Minister agree that, although there are dozens of reasons for us to criticize him, this is one area in which we can be grateful to Boris Johnson?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I sympathise with my noble friend’s point, but I find it hard to sympathise with that man on anything.

Wales: Public Services

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

As I understand it, as heavy rail is a reserved matter and the UK Government are therefore responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales, they spend money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach applies to investment in HS2 and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas that are reserved in Wales, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, further to the excellent question from my noble friend Lady Wilcox of Newport, can the Minister confirm, following the resetting of relations with the Scottish and Welsh Governments after the 14 disastrous years of the Tory Government, that through Brand Scotland and its Welsh equivalent, Scottish and Welsh heritage and products will be promoted throughout the world by this United Kingdom Labour Government?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

As always, my noble friend says it far better than I could. I nearly always agree with him, and I do so on this point in particular.

Independent School Fees: VAT

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Monday 21st October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The impact assessment will cover the full range of expected impacts.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that many of us think that taxing the schools like other private enterprises is long overdue? Will he confirm that, in the case of the sons and daughters of MoD and FCDO personnel, it is in fact just a transfer from one government department to the other and has no net impact?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I absolutely agree with the spirit of my noble friend’s point. This is a necessary decision that will generate additional funding to help improve public services, including the Government’s commitments relating to education and young people. The Government are committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and determined to drive up standards in those schools serving the overwhelming majority of children in this country.

UK Economy: Capital Gains Tax

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am very grateful to the noble Baroness for giving me another opportunity to remind the House of the £22 billion black hole that was concealed by the previous Government. I am grateful to her for letting me remind the House whose mess this was in the first place that this Government now need to clear up. I am sure all noble Lords will be interested to hear that the £22 billion black hole consists of a £6 billion overspend on the asylum system that the previous Government concealed from the Office for Budget Responsibility and from this Parliament. It consists of £3 billion of uncosted commitments on road and rail projects. They overspent the reserve three times over just three months into the financial year and at no point did they tell any Member of this House or the other House or the Office for Budget Responsibility. The Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed that and has established a reviewed to ensure that it cannot happen again.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

Did the Minister hear the “Today” programme this morning, where the BBC had somehow obtained information that millionaires in this country were threatening to leave if they were asked to pay fair taxation? Will he ignore them completely and instead take account of the millionaires who gathered at Davos and said they were willing to pay more so that the poor people in this country could become better off? Those are the millionaires we should pay attention to, not the ones who are threatening to leave the country.

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for his insight. He knows that we must rebuild our public finances to ensure economic stability, including by addressing the £22 billion black hole. He knows too that that will involve difficult decisions on spending, welfare and tax.

European Investment Bank

Debate between Lord Livermore and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Wednesday 24th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I agree with the noble Baroness. That absolutely has to be one of the criteria or conditions that we establish as part of the pensions review. I am sure that, as more details are announced, that will be taken into account.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on his patience and understanding in not pointing out to Members opposite who are sitting quietly—not asking questions, even from the Front Bench—that they are the people who got us into this problem in the first place.

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Apologies. I was unsure whether that was a question. I am most grateful to my noble friend for his warm words. He knows that I agree with him that we must reset our relationship with our closest and strongest partners in the EU.